http://www.sfgate.com/restaurants/article/No-9-Fishermen-s-Grotto-unites-generations-5318777.php

By Lynne Char Bennett is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail:lbennett@sfchronicle.com

This is part of a series exploring the Port of San Francisco restaurants. Previous articles are at www.sfgate.com/food and www.sfchronicle.com/food.

Plenty of restaurants line the bay, but there might be none larger than No. 9 Fishermen's Grotto.

When Sicilian immigrant Mike Geraldi arrived in San Francisco in 1931 from a town noted for its fishing industry, he went to work on the boats and sold his catch from fish stall No. 9 - a number that would help shape his future. After fishing commercially for four years, Geraldi built a two-story, 180-seat restaurant, the first on Fisherman's Wharf, so his customers could sit down to eat his prepared catch. In 1951, the fish-processing plant next door was made into a restaurant, Vista del Mar, which Geraldi purchased two years later. He consolidated it with No. 9 Fishermen's Grotto, creating a space that was then 18,000 square feet. An expansion in the 1960s brought the upstairs seating to 265, with 150 more downstairs at the Grotto Tavern and the Venetian Room, now the more casual Caffe. The crab stand outside is still the place for walk-away fried seafood and Dungeness crab.

There is a 1950s vibe upstairs, in tune with Frank Sinatra's crooning in the background and the covered dessert cart at the ready. Busers are clad in short blue and gold waiter jackets that match the royal blue carpet emblazoned with the restaurant's logo, a yellow-gold "little fisherman." A curved wooden bar anchors the lounge area, which sports a fireplace and plenty of comfortable chairs. According to Anthony Geraldi, one of the six family members who are partners in the restaurant, the Grotto can serve up to 2,000 people a day and blast through 400 or more Dungeness crabs in an average weekend.

About 60 percent of the clientele are tourists, many of whom come for the crab. The rest are locals, including patrons in their 90s, who often celebrate weddings, birthdays and anniversaries there. But, Geraldi says, there is also a new generation of diners in their 20s through 40s who were first brought to No. 9 Fishermen's Grotto by their parents and grandparents. No matter the generation, popular choices include retro seafood classics like crab Louie, crab-stuffed sole in lobster cream sauce and lobster Thermidor. There are also Manhattan and Boston clam chowders; the latter won the Fisherman's Wharf Fest clam chowder competition in the fall.

Though the vibe and food may be from another era, the views from the large picture windows are timeless - the Golden Gate Bridge, Russian Hill, neighboring Alioto's and Castagnola's restaurants, and a slice of the Embarcadero. The philosophy at No. 9 Fishermen's Grotto is also timeless. As Geraldi says, "The popular thing today is farm-to-table restaurants. Well, we've been doing sea-to-table for almost 80 years."